Kentucky General Assembly

Kentucky Gazette editor and publisher Laura Cullen Glasscock and WUKY's Alan Lytle discuss the major storylines going into and coming out of the now concluded 2024 Legislative Session and how those votes might play out in next month's primary election (May 21st for those of you scoring at home) and the November general election.

This week on WUKY's Capitol Chat, Kentucky Gazette editor and publisher Laura Cullen Glasscock and Alan Lytle talk about some of the vetoes issued by Democrat Governor Andy Beshear during the 10 day recess of the 2024 legislative session. Lawmakers have the opportunity to override the vetoes when they return to the Capitol for two more legislative days this Friday and next Monday. They can also pass new bills minus the ability to override a gubernatorial nixing.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear was at a podium Wednesday for a familiar scene: to discuss damage from the latest round of storms that battered Kentucky. But this time he contended that a new Republican-backed policy threatens to tie his hands in responding to any future disasters. Clay Wallace reports.

Kentucky lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to a bill stripping the state's Democratic governor of any role in picking someone to occupy a U.S. Senate seat if a vacancy occurred in the home state of 82-year-old Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

The Kentucky Senate delivered bipartisan support Wednesday night for a new two-year state budget that would increase funding for K-12 schools as lawmakers moved closer to accomplishing their biggest responsibility of this year's legislative session.

At last count, nearly 800 groups have spent in excess of $6M in January and February in an attempt to influence legislation and the session isn't even over yet. Kentucky Gazette editor and publisher Laura Cullen Glasscock joins WUKY's Alan Lytle in a conversation about what lobbyists can and cannot do by law in Frankfort.

Protests at Kentucky's Capitol can seem as commonplace as basketball pep rallies when Republican lawmakers are advancing bills that stir up opponents. But a protest last year against anti-transgender legislation — which resulted in arrests — has spurred a response from lawmakers. The Kentucky House has passed a bill to create criminal offenses for interfering with legislative proceedings.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has vowed to relentlessly oppose a proposed school choice constitutional amendment moving closer to reaching Kentucky's general election ballot. Republican lawmakers have accelerated action on the measure. A Senate panel advanced the bill Thursday, a day after it won House passage. Beshear says he's ready to lead the campaign against the proposal if it reaches the statewide ballot in November.

Kentucky Senate Republicans revealed their version of the state's next two-year budget Wednesday, proposing more funding for the main K-12 school funding formula and doubling the amount of performance-based funding that goes to public universities.

A closely scrutinized open-records measure dealing with public access to the flow of electronic messages among government officials won passage in the Kentucky House on Tuesday.